WordPress sitemap: find it, fix it and submit it

A sitemap is how Google and Bing find new and updated pages without waiting to stumble on links, and a page has to be indexed (in the search engine's index, the library it answers from) before it can show in search or in the AI answers built on it. This guide covers where each version lives, what real WordPress sitemaps returned when we checked on October 17, 2026, why /wp-sitemap.xml sometimes 404s, how lastmod works, and how to submit and check it.

Where does WordPress put your sitemap?

WordPress core puts its sitemap index at https://example.com/wp-sitemap.xml. The WordPress 5.5 announcement says "WordPress will expose a sitemap index at /wp-sitemap.xml" and that "a single sitemap can hold a (filterable) maximum of 2000 entries" (Make WordPress Core, July 22, 2020). The current core code still uses that default: the wp_sitemaps_max_urls filter returns 2000 (sitemaps.php source).

The same post says sitemaps cover "all public and publicly queryable post types and taxonomies, as well as for author archives and of course the homepage." The index links to one file per content type, numbered when a type passes 2,000 URLs:

Core builds these names as /wp-sitemap-<provider>-<subtype>-<page>.xml. Without pretty permalinks it falls back to query strings such as /?sitemap=index (WP_Sitemaps_Provider source). Core also adds a Sitemap: line to the virtual robots.txt on public sites, which our WordPress robots.txt guide covers.

SEO plugins replace the core file with their own. Where each one lives, as of October 2026:

Rank Math's guide says its index "is available at https://yourdomainname/sitemap_index.xml". The Yoast and All in One SEO URLs are what those plugins served on their makers' own sites when we checked (next section).

What did real WordPress sitemaps return on October 17, 2026?

We requested /wp-sitemap.xml on six public WordPress sites on October 17, 2026, using this command:

for u in \
  https://make.wordpress.org/core/wp-sitemap.xml \
  https://wordpress.org/news/wp-sitemap.xml \
  https://yoast.com/wp-sitemap.xml \
  https://rankmath.com/wp-sitemap.xml \
  https://aioseo.com/wp-sitemap.xml \
  https://www.seopress.org/wp-sitemap.xml; do
  curl -s -o /dev/null -w "%{http_code} %{redirect_url} <- $u\n" "$u"
done

What came back, plus what we found when we followed each result:

Two cautions. These are the vendors' own sites, which may not use default settings. And the noindex header applies to the sitemap file itself, keeping the XML out of search results; it doesn't stop search engines reading the URLs listed inside.

Why does /wp-sitemap.xml return a 404 or a redirect?

A 404 or redirect at /wp-sitemap.xml almost always means something else is now responsible for your sitemap, or the site is set to stay out of search. The usual causes:

• An SEO plugin took over. SEOPress documents it directly: "we automatically redirect other common xml sitemaps URLs," listing /wp-sitemap.xml among them (SEOPress). The other three makers' sites redirected the same way when we checked.
• Jetpack's sitemap is on. Jetpack serves /sitemap.xml, and says "We won't activate our Sitemap feature if we detect you're already using one of the more popular sitemap plugins on your site" (Jetpack). wordpress.org/news is a live example: Jetpack sitemap, core URL 404.
• The site discourages search engines. The 5.5 post says that when you "discourage search engines from indexing your site, sitemaps will be disabled." Core keeps the rewrite rules so that "a 404 is returned" (WP_Sitemaps source).
• Code switched it off. A theme or plugin can run add_filter( 'wp_sitemaps_enabled', '__return_false' );, the snippet the 5.5 post gives for disabling sitemaps.
• You switched SEO plugins. If you deactivate an SEO plugin, its sitemap URL stops working, and Search Console keeps trying the old address you submitted. Our page on what "Sitemap could not be read" means covers that error.

Whatever the cause, submit the URL that returns 200 without a redirect.

How does lastmod work in a WordPress sitemap?

WordPress adds lastmod (the date a page last changed) to every post, page and custom post type entry, plus the home page when it lists your latest posts. The change landed in October 2023 with a commit that says "No lastmod is added for the individual sitemap pages in the sitemap index, nor for term archives or user archives" (core commit 0ad0726). It isn't in the 6.4 branch's posts provider and is in the 6.5 branch, so it shipped in WordPress 6.5.

The value comes from the post's post_modified_gmt field. Core's wp_insert_post() sets that field to the current time on every update (post.php source), so a typo fix or a bulk re-save moves lastmod as much as a rewrite does.

Both search engines ask for an honest date:

• Google "uses the <lastmod> value if it's consistently and verifiably (for example by comparing to the last modification of the page) accurate," and says an update to the copyright date isn't significant (Google Search Central).
• Bing's July 2025 guidance says the value "should reflect the true last modification time of the page content, not the sitemap file itself" (Bing Webmaster Blog).

So don't bulk-update old posts just to refresh their dates. Change the content when it needs changing; our guide to content freshness and AI answers explains why the real update is what counts.

How do you submit a WordPress sitemap to Google Search Console?

You submit a WordPress sitemap in Search Console's Sitemaps report, which needs owner permission on the property. If you haven't added the site yet, start with connecting WordPress to Search Console.

1. Find the working URL. Open /wp-sitemap.xml or your plugin's sitemap in a private window and note the final address after any redirect.
2. Test it as Google. Google says you can test the sitemap by "running a live URL inspection and checking that Page fetch is 'Successful'" (Sitemaps report help). Our URL Inspection tool guide shows where that is.
3. Submit it. Paste the URL "into the Add a new sitemap box in the Sitemaps report, then click Submit." Submit the index, not each child file.
4. Read the status. "Success" means it was read without errors; "Couldn't fetch" means Google couldn't get it.

Google adds that without owner permission "you can list the sitemap in your robots.txt file instead," which core WordPress already does. The report shows only sitemaps submitted through it or the API, though, so submit it there to see its status.

How do you submit a WordPress sitemap to Bing Webmaster Tools?

Bing takes the same sitemap URL. If you add your site by importing it from Search Console, Bing says "any new sitemap found on your Search Console account will also be imported automatically" (Bing Webmaster Tools help). Otherwise, add it in the Sitemaps tool; our Bing Webmaster Tools guide walks through setup.

Bing says it will "attempt to fetch it immediately upon submission" and then revisit it "typically at least once per day" (Bing Webmaster Blog). For changes Bing should hear about between those visits, add IndexNow on WordPress (an open "this page changed" notice that Bing and other participating engines accept; Google doesn't use it).

Which WordPress sitemap errors should you expect?

Most WordPress sitemap errors come from an old URL, a cache or a setting. As of October 2026:

Once your sitemap reads "Success", check which of its URLs Google has indexed instead of waiting to find out.

How do you check that your WordPress sitemap worked?

A "Success" status means Google read the file; it doesn't mean the URLs are indexed. Google says crawling "can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks" (Google Search Central), and indexing is still its call.

To see the URLs themselves, open the Page indexing report and set its sitemap filter to "All submitted pages," which Google defines as URLs "listed in a sitemap or sitemap index that was submitted using either the Sitemaps report or a robots.txt file" (Page indexing report help). Submitted pages marked crawled, currently not indexed were read and set aside; the fix there is the page, not the sitemap.

To check every sitemap URL against Google in one go, FreshlyCited's recipe for pushing unindexed sitemap URLs runs the list through a visibility check. Smart push then sends only the "Invisible" URLs to Google, re-checks them on days 1, 3 and 7, and returns the index credit for any link still not indexed after day 7 (exclusions apply, such as pages that return an error or carry noindex). Google still decides what it indexes.

Sitemap submitted? Check your WordPress pages free: 10 free links to try, then 100 free checks a month, no card needed.